I can still remember a conversation with a former Colts assistant coach. We were talking about that 2005 season, when Indy was the most dominant team in the league. Late that season, though, Tony Dungy's son committed suicide.

"We were never the same after that," the coach told me. "I couldn't say it at the time, but something was missing. Something was ripped out of that team. Emotionally, we weren't the same team."

It would be nice to think the Indianapolis Colts will play far over their heads Sunday, and the rest of this season, to honor Chuck Pagano and his battle with leukemia. It would be nice to have the Colts bring the Green Bay victory game ball to Pagano at the IU Simon Cancer Center, where he is receiving chemotherapy, trying to beat the monster while the team is still building the monster.

It would be nice.

But we don't know how they'll react.

Will they play like a group with a higher purpose and overachieve and beat the favored Packers?

Or will the life be sucked out of them by the shocking, saddening events of this past week?

This is one of the first things interim coach Bruce Arians addressed with his team Wednesday morning: Don't play with too much emotion. Don't try to do more than you're capable. Don't try to do two jobs when doing your own job will suffice.

It was a smart message.

"One thing we have to do is be very aware of not getting over-excited or over-hyped about trying to do something extra," Arians said. "We can't get caught up in snot bubbles and tears. They don't beat anybody."

One thing we know about athletes, and professional athletes in particular: They're good at compartmentalizing. They can put personal issues to the side when it's time to perform. We saw it as recently as last week with Baltimore's Torrey Smith, who lost his brother and then played one of the greatest games of his life the same night.

The football field, any field, is a safe haven for personal tragedy. When you're blocking and tackling, when you're worrying about specific assignments, there's no time for anything else.

At the same time, something -- specifically, someone -- has been lost from this team. We've seen it in New Orleans, where the Saints have struggled without their head coach, albeit under dramatically different circumstances. While Arians is an inspired pick to work in an interim capacity, there's nothing like having your head coach, your leader of men, in the locker room and on the sidelines.

"I'm going to miss his energy," Cory Redding said. "I'm going to miss him coming in every day, joking around, cutting up with guys. Chuck has a presence that's going to be missed."

My educated guess is the Colts will play with their hair on fire. The Luke will be suffused with emotion Sunday, and the team will feed off that emotion. An entire city has now thrown its arms about Pagano, his wife, Tina, and the Pagano family.

But there's a risk there, too.

The risk comes in trying to do too much.

The key for the Colts will be finding the proper balance.

"You try to put it aside a bit, as cold as that sounds," Andrew Luck said. "Our thoughts are with him with everything we do. We break it down after practice on 'Chuck.' A lot of guys will be playing for him for a lot of games to come. But he (Pagano) would be disappointed if we're not putting full effort into practice or getting too emotional about his situation."

In an effort to support Pagano, I'm suggesting fans wear something orange -- the color of leukemia awareness -- to the game Sunday.

I realize it's breast cancer awareness month and a lot of people will be wearing pink for that worthy cause, but why not supplement the ensemble with something orange? An orange tie. An orange wristband. An orange headband. Something.

No, pink and orange don't go together; even someone with my poor fashion sense knows that. But think of the statement of support that will make. Think of Pagano, sitting in his hospital room, watching that game on his television and seeing a sea of orange. (And if it means wearing your Broncos 18 jersey, well, you're allowed).

The Colts have told me they love the idea, but are committed for this game to the pink breast cancer effort. They will, however, sell chuckstrong T-shirts, with proceeds going to leukemia research, at the pro shop. There will be chuckstrong banners, with an orange ribbon, behind both goalposts. And they are working on doing something with leukemia awareness sometime in the next few home games.

This will be the most emotional game in recent Colts history since the afternoon against Arizona when Dungy returned from saying goodbye to his son.

A journalist is supposed to be coldly objective about the outcome of a given game.

For this one, I make an exception.

I'm rooting -- quietly, surreptitiously -- for the Colts. For the winning game ball to end up in the IU Simon Cancer Center. For Chuck.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at (317) 444-6643 or via email at bob.kravitz@indystar.com. You can also follow Bob on Twitter at @bkravitz.